Followers

Saturday, 15 November 2014

David Watson R.I.P.

David Watson, who had recurring roles on the TV shows Rawhide and Never Too Young, died on 5 October 2014 at the age of 74. The cause was a heart attack.

David Watson was born in Austin, Texas on 10 March 1940. His parents moved to London not long after he was born. At a young age he was a choirboy at Westminster Abbey and even sang at the Coronation of HRM Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. As a teenager he became a professional singer and performed in nightclubs and cabarets. He later turned to acting, initially on stage.

He made his television debut playing the regular role of Ian Cabot in the final season of the TV Western Rawhide. He was also a regular on the teenage soap opera Never Too Young that aired on ABC-TV in 1965 and 1966. In the late Sixties he guest starred on such shows as The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Time Tunnel, Petticoat Junction, Rowan & Martin's Laugh In, and Daniel Boone. In 1968 he starred in a television musical version of the Robin Hood myth entitled The Legend of Robin Hood alongside Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Roddy McDowall. He made his film debut in 1970 playing Cornelius in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Due to a scheduling conflict, Roddy McDowall was unable to play the role he had originated in the first movie and as a result Mr. Watson got the part. He also appeared on the British stage in The Great Waltz.

In the Seventies David Watson guest starred on the TV shows Charlie's Angels, The Bionic Woman, and Project U.F.O. He appeared on the British stage in R Loves J. In 1979 he became a talent agent with the White Light agency.

Mr. Watson returned to acting a few times over the years. He appeared in the films Beyond the Next Mountain (1987), Headless! (1994), Lucky Break (1994), and Criminal Ways (2003). He appeared in the TV movies Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake and My Brother Jack, and guest starred on the TV show Good Guys Bad Guys.